UPDATED with YouTube response: FCC chair Brendan Carr put his thumb on the scale in a carriage battle between YouTube TV and Fox, telling YouTube parent Google to “get a deal done.”
“Google removing Fox channels from YouTube TV would be a terrible outcome. Millions of Americans are relying on YouTube to resolve this dispute so they can keep watching the news and sports they want —including this week’s Big Game: Texas @ Ohio State. Get a deal done Google!,” Carr posted on X.
YouTube responded with its own post on X. “We love football too @brendancarrfcc! We’re working hard to negotiate a deal that’s fair to Fox, our valued subscribers and all of our partners. Stay tuned.”
The parties’ current contract expires at 5 pm ET Aug. 27 — tomorrow.
Fox News primetime hosts are loyalists to President Donald Trump, as is Carr, selected by the president to lead the FCC.
With no renewal, both Fox and Google have warned that the Fox Sports, Fox News and Fox Business channels could go dark on YouTube TV along with streamer Fox Nation and some add-ons. The blackout looms with less than two weeks before the 2025 NFL season kicks off.
“While Fox remains committed to reaching a fair agreement with Google’s YouTube TV, we are disappointed that Google continually exploits its outsized influence by proposing terms that are out of step with the marketplace,” Fox said yesterday. “We are alerting Fox viewers who are YouTube TV subscribers that they could lose access to much of their favorite news, sports, entertainment and local station programming unless Google engages in a meaningful way soon.”
“We’re committed to continuing to work with Fox to reach an agreement,” said YouTube TV, “but if their content becomes unavailable for an extended period of time, we’ll offer our subscribers a $10 credit.”
It said Fox “is asking for payments that are far higher than what partners with comparable content offerings receive. Our priority is to reach a deal that reflects the value of their content and is fair for both sides without passing on additional costs to our subscribers.”
